Grid electrode support



March 5, 1940.

L. GOODALE GRID ELECTRODE SUPPORT Filed Feb. 10, 1939 I VENTOR L /V GOOMLE ATTORNEY PatentedMar. 5, 1940 GRID ELECTRODE SUPPORT Lynn Goodale, Newark,

Telegraph Company, tion of California N. .L, assignor to Federal Newark, N. J., a corpora- Application February 10, 1939, Serial No. 255,593

. '7 Claims.

My invention relates to vacuum tube electrode supporting structures and more particularly to a supporting structure particularly adapted for supporting grid or anode electrodes of a vacuum tube. I I

In vacuum tube construction it is desirable that the tube be so made that the parts may be'easily assembled and once assembled that the structure will be rigid and strong so that parts may not be easily dislodged, causing failure of the vacuum tube. In such tube structures it is necessary'that the electrodes be supported inside the tube envelope generally by means of insulating supports made of glass or other material which will not stand a great deal of load under tension, but which will stand considerable compression load.

In accordancewith my invention I provide an electrode supporting arrangement which has substantially only to withstand compression forces and not tension forces. Furthermore, I so con- "struct my electrode supporting arrangement that there is onlya small degree oftorque upon the insulating members even when a tube is utilized in horizontal position.

It is a principal object of my invention to produce a vacuum tube electrode supporting arrangement which is easily constructed and is strong when once assembled.

It is a further object of my invention to prov vide a vacuum tube electrode supporting ar-- rangement in which the electrode members pro-: duce mainly compression stresses upon the insulating support.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an electrode supporting structure in which the electrodes are clamped thereto by means of a simple clamping mechanism.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an electrode supporting member of insulating material on which electrode thereto.

Other and more specific features. and objects of my invention will be apparent from the particular description made with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig, 1 illustrates an electrode assembly together with the supporting structure in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is'a detailed in which the electrodes are clamped to the insulating supporting structure,

Fig. 3 is. a view of the insulating supporting structure taken at line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

are provided substantially I spherically shaped elements for clamping the.

view illustrating the manner Fig. 4 is a modified form of electrode supporting structure in accordance with my invention viewed similarly to Fig. 3, and

' Fig. 5 is afragmentary View of the electrode supporting structure of Fig. l, shown partly in cross-section to illustrate the form of the insulating supporting knob. 7

Turning first to Fig. 1, the flare assembly is indicated generally at I00. This assembly comprises a glass flare through which filament leads '10 IIII may be carried by suitable metal-to-glass seals. Fastened to the glass assembly I provide a cylindrical glass member I02 This member is preferably sealed directly to the flare assembly Hi0, so as to form integrally therewith a portion of the glass envelope. At the upper end of member I02 are provided spherical supporting knobs or members I03. A plurality of these members I03 may be provided so asto form arigid supporting structurefor the electrodes. in Fig. 3, four of these spherical members or knobs are provided. It is, of course, clear that any number greater than two will furnish a rigid supporting arrangement. Clamped to knobs I433 are apluralityof electrode supporting members 25 IM. These supporting members may support a grid I05, as shown in Fig. 1, or any other elec-; trode such as an anode.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated more completely the manner in which rods IM are clamped onto knobs 30 I03. Securely fastened to rod Hi l by welding or other means is provided a solid clamping member I05. This member flares outwardly at I06 and is preferably formed with an interior curvature of spherical shape to correspond cal shape of the knobs I03. Member I5 is threaded interiorly as indicated at IUI; A split section cup, formed of two parts I68, I09, with spherical interior faces, is provided to fit over knobs I03, the parts being so dimensioned as to 40 extend below the diameter of the knobs in order to clamp thereto. Members I08, I09, are threaded as indicated at III), so that these portions when fitted together'will thread into member H15. The

threaded portions may be formed as a single unit D split part of its length if desired. In assembling these supports on the insulating knobs I03, members 108, M9, are first fittedaround knobs I03. The solid clamp'carrying with it electrode sup- 5o porting rod IE4, is then screwed down by these threads IIII, H0, until the solid clamp member engagesparts I08, I09, holding them firmly in clamped position about knobs I03. This forms j a rigid supporting arrangement which is easily 55 As shown 20 with the 'spheri- 35 attached and detached to the insulating knobs of the tube.

With this structure completed it is clear that the electrode is supported upon knobs which are closely associated with the glass cylinder I02. It is thus clear that a strong rigid assembly is provided which is also easily and quickly assembled.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated an alternative form of my invention. In this figure tubular member 802 is pinched at the upper end to form clamping knobs I20 which are substantially spherical in contour. However, the spheres are not complete and connection is made to the glass envelope at the lower point l2! of Fig. 5, as well as laterally of these knobs, as shown at I22, of- Fig. 4. This construction is somewhat more rigidthan the arrangement of Figs. 1 to 3, since the supporting knobs are braced not only at their lower edge but also at the sides. The split clamp arrangement similar to that shown in Fig. 2, may however, be, easily applied to this construction. It is merely necessary that the split clamp parts be terminated short of a semi-circle so that the 25 clamp members will ,fit around knobs I 29 without exerting additional pressures on the walls of tube I02. It is clearthatthis modified arrangement still preserves the feature of easy assembly While enhancing the strengthof the whole assembly.

While I have described my invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, it should be distinctly understood that this description is merely by way of illustration and not as a limitation-of the scope thereof. WhatI consider as my invention is defined in the accompanying claims. p

What I claim is:

1. A vacuum tube electrode structure, comprising a supporting member of insulating. material, a plurality of knobs fixed to said member, and electrode supporting means secured to said knobs. c

2. A vacuum tube electrode support, comp-ris ing a cylindrical member of insulating material,

a plurality of knobs'with substantially spherical surfaces formed on one end of said cylindrical member, and electrode supporting meansclamped I on said knobs, whereby fected. v

3. An electrode support comprising a plurality of spaced knob members, an electrode supporting rod for each of said knob members, and a clamp for'holding' each of said IOdSOIlfSEtid knob members comprising a split cup of such interior con figuration as to fit closelyabout said knob, said a rigid assembly is ef- -cup being provided with an extended threaded portion, and, a clamping member fixed to said rod and provided with-an interior thread for cooperating With said threaded portion, said clampin'g member being providedwith a flared portion for fitting about said split cup to'clamp it firmly about said knob.

4. An electrode support, comprising a cylin drical glass unit, and a plurality of electrode supporting knobs of substantially spherical shape formed integrally on one end of said cylindrical member. I ,1

5. An electrode support comprisinga cylindrical glass member, and a plurality of support:- ing knobs having spherical surfaces, formed in one end of said cylindensaid knobs having their upper surfaces substantially fiu'sh'with the end of said cylinder. I

6. An electrode support comprising. a cylindrical glass member, a pluralityof supporting knobs having spherical surfaces, formed in one end of said cylinder, said knobs havingtheir upper surfaces substantially flush with the end of said cylinder, and electrodesupporting members clamped to said knobs.

7. Anelectrode support comprising a cylindrical glass member, a plurality of supporting' knobs having spherical surfaces, formed :in one end of said cylinder, said knobs having their upper surfaces substantially fiushlvvith the end. of said cylinder, electrode supporting rods, and

means for clamping said rods to said knobs'in I with said spherical surfaces.

close cooperation v LYNN' GQODALE. 1 

